Product Description

Attention burned-out believers and religious misfits! What if genuine faith begins with admitting you'll never have your act together? Offering a strong antidote for spiritual perfectionism, Yaconelli dares to suggest that "unfinishedness" accompanies true Christianity! Escape the "ought to" tyranny and discover the God who meets and transforms you in the midst of life's messiness. 176 pages, softcover from Zondervan.

Publisher's Description

I Guess Im Not a Very Good Christian . . . Do you feel like: I dont pray enough I dont read my Bible enough I dont share my faith enough I dont love God enough Im not committed enough Im not spiritual enough Then this book is for you. Messy Spirituality was written for the silent majority of us who have been convinced that we just dont do Christianity right. We spend most of our lives worried about what we dont do instead of what we have done, focused on our imperfections instead of Gods fondness for the imperfect. Why? Because weve been bombarded with books, tapes, talks, seminars, and movies convincing us that real Christianity is all about perfection. Michael Yaconelli dares to suggest that imperfection, infiniteness, and messiness are, in fact, the earmarks of true Christianity; that real Christianity is messy, erratic, lopsided . . . and gloriously liberating. What if genuine faith begins with admitting we will never have our act completely together? Maybe messy disciples are exactly the kind of imperfect people Jesus came to earth for and whose company he actually enjoyed--and still enjoys. If you want to find Jesus today, look for him in the midst of burned-out believers, moral misfits, religious incompetents . . . men and women whose lives are, well, messy. Messy Spirituality is a strong antidote for the spiritual perfectionism in us all. Here are truths that can cut you loose from the tyranny of ought-tos and open your eyes to the deep spirituality of being loved, shortcomings and all, by the God who meets you and transforms you in the midst of a messy and unpredictable life.

Author Bio

Mike Yaconelli is the author of bestselling books Dangerous Wonder and Messy Spirituality. He was the senior editor for the Wittenburg Door (1971-1996), a satirical religious magazine noted for its irreverent humor, in-depth interviews, and commitment to reforming the evangelical church. He was the cofounder of Youth Specialties, an international organization devoted to equipping youth workers through training and resources. Mike was a prophetic voice in the church-at-large and was a devoted husband and father until his death in 2003.

Messy Spirituality describes how you don't have to have a perfect life to be a Christian, and how God loves flawed people. I purchased it to use for a spiritual group at a Mental Health Drop-In Center. I was afraid that the book might not work for a group, but it even has questions in the back for discussion!

I'm a christian.....But I'm not very good at it. How wonderful and revealing it is to know you don't have to act a certain way, or do a certain thing a certain way, or to say or do it a certain number of times as it relates to GOD. This bood will turn a persons world upside down or right side up depending on how you look it. Either way, it is truly a blessing to anyone who reads it. Mr. Yaconelli has found a way for people to experience grace first hand instead of just knowing about it. I thought the chains were removed when I was reborn only to learn that they had been replaced with new ones as it related to my closeness with God. Messy Spirituality removes all of these chains in a very beautiful and gentles way. After reading this, I cannot fathom anyone or anything taking away what God bestowed on me with this book.

It's amazing how many Born Again, Spirit Filled, God Fearing(love and respect) Christians I have shared the message of this book with and the conversation becomes: Hey, that's me too and when I realize that I've slipped in "my" God relationship, I've been dissapointed in me and wondered how this could happen. This book helps me remember that only God is perfect and I am NOT even though God is working His perfection in me.